'What Kind Of Authority Does He Have?' England Great Questions Babar Azam's Role Amid Pakistan Chaos
Calls have been made for Babar Azam to resign from his position as Test captain after the PCB's mass sackings.
- Michael Atherton questioned Babar Azam’s authority as Pakistan captain amid team turmoil
- Atherton noted captains need some authority despite reduced power in modern cricket
- "And what kind of authority does he, or indeed any captain of Pakistan, have in this setup?" said Atherton
Former England captain Michael Atherton has questioned Babar Azam's authority as captain of Pakistan amid turbulence in the national men's cricket team setup. Calls have been made for Babar to resign from his position as Test captain after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) replaced seven players, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul following the heavy defeat to England in the Lord's Test last week. Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, former England batter Atherton questioned how Babar would lead the team going forward.
"I feel it's a horrible position for a captain, Babar Azam, to be in. And what kind of authority does he, or indeed any captain of Pakistan, have in this setup?" said Atherton.
Atherton admitted that while captains no longer hold the same power they did in the past, they still need to command authority within the team.
"One understands that the captain is not all-powerful these days. You're not going back 30 years when captains perhaps ran the show, but they have to have some authority within a team. Given what's happened, how do you lead that team now?" he added.
Atherton also suggested that the situation in Pakistan cricket would not improve, even if the team somehow managed to beat England in the third and final Test.
"Not in this instance, no, because of the damage it will do in the long term. This is no way to manage players and no way to build a long-term vision at all," Atherton explained.
Placed at the bottom of the World Test Championship points table, Pakistan lost the opening Test to England by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley before going down by 194 runs at Lord's.
Pakistan made major changes to their Test setup ahead of the third and final Test against England, which begins on September 9, replacing almost half of their squad.
(With Agency Inputs)
Pakistan Cricket Team
England Cricket Team
Babar Azam